Friday, April 30, 2010

"Big changes" is the name of the game right now. At least in my life. Looking forward to some of the best months of the year out here in Colorado, and what could prove to be some of the best, and most productive, of my life. I look forward to sharing it all...

Friday, April 16, 2010

And they have done it again! My good friends Jon Glassberg and Jordan Shipman of Louder Than 11 Productions have released New River Gorge Curse to the world! I'm very excited to have played a role in the film and I look forward to all future endeavors with these guys. The trip to the New in December was full of highs and lows, but overall it was a great time and I only have good things to say about the people, quality rock, scenery, potential and overall experience that the New River Gorge provided me with. Can't wait to make a return....

Sunday, April 11, 2010

In the midst of probably one of the biggest breakthroughs in my personal climbing ability, tragedy struck:

Well... Maybe not a complete tragedy, but certainly a setback. I have been training A LOT recently. Sometimes climbing nearly 40 problems V7-V11 in less than 2 hours. Let's just say I haven't been this psyched in YEARS! I have also been coupling my climbing training with weight training and calisthenics. While adjusting a piece of the weight equipment a couple days ago at The Spot, my hand lost its grip and when the two pieces of heavy metal collided, my index finger was there to absorb all the force. After two days it's feeling much better. Hopefully it will be healed in time for the Earth Treks competition at the end of the month. And then Jade...

Monday, April 5, 2010

Yesterday I made my once a year visit to the Poudre Canyon to try and clean up some old projects. It was snowing sideways when Jon, Herm, Ben and I got to the boulders, but we decided to make an attempt at climbing anyways. After a bit of cleaning snow off topouts and such, the weather started to clear up. First up: An attempt at the recently broken Canopener V11/12. After a few warm-up burns, I topped it out with the right exit. Felt really good. For the last two weeks or so, I've been feeling VERY light. I assumed that the feeling would die away after a bit, but fortunately for me, it seems to be sticking around. If I manage to scratch a few more things off my list, I might have to dub this the Breakthrough of 2010!

After Canopener, I rested for a bit while watching Jon finish off the problem, and Ben getting as close as humanly possible to a send without actually sending. Devastating to say the least. But the kid is real strong and he'll finish it off on his next trip.

Finally I managed to snag a few pads and head around the boulder to Circadian Rhythm V13. I've tried this boulder a few times in the past, but I've never really been able to "project" it. I basically get to try it for about an hour or two every year. However, this schedule was been great for showing my steady progression. I re-warmed up by doing the last big move a couple of times. 3rd try from the start and it was in the bag. Wow! It's nice to feel strong again. Here's a screen shot: